Cybergrass Bluegrass Music News: J.D. Crowe and The New South Headline 2010 Kentucky Bluegrass Music Kickoff

BMNN wrote: on Nov. 25, 2009:

Lebanon, KY -- For the second consecutive year, the Kentucky Bluegrass Music Kickoff has been named a Kentucky Tourism Council "Top 10 Winter & Holiday Festivals & Events." Held in historic downtown Lebanon Jan. 8-9, KBMK '10 features J.D. Crowe, one of the most influential progressive bluegrass musicians ever, and his band, The New South, along with Gary "Biscuit" Davis, the Hagar's Mountain Boys, comedian Rik Rogers and John Cosby & The Bluegrass Drifters in this two-day celebration of the state's official music.

KBMK joins such heavy hitters as Renfro Valley's Christmas in the Valley, Ashland's Winter Wonderland of Lights, Lexington's Southern Lights, Owensboro's Winter Wonderland and Christmas Parade, Elizabethtown's Christmas in the Park and TommyFest8, Murray's Main Street Merriment and Mt. Olivet's Dinner Theater at Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park as a Top 10 honoree.

A panel of impartial judges chooses the KTC Top 10 events. Criteria for selection include popularity of the event, its impact on the local tourism economy and its cultural and historical significance.

Crowe & The New South have been performing for more than three decades and were nominated for a Grammy Award in 2007 for "Lefty's Old Guitar" in the Best Bluegrass Album category. The album won the International Bluegrass Music Association's Album of the Year award in 2007 and the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America's Song of the Year award for the title cut in 2008. Crowe was also nominated for the IBMA's Banjo Player of the Year award in 2008 and is featured in the indie film "A Kentucky Treasure: The J.D. Crowe Story."

Considered one of the most influential bluegrass groups since the 1970s, The New South has been the launch pad for many influential musicians, including Keith Whitley, Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice, Doyle Lawson and Jerry Douglas along with Phil Leadbetter, who has performed at past Kentucky Bluegrass Music Kickoffs.

Davis is the three-time national banjo picking champion who records with Dolly Parton and performs with her in her Christmas show in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

The KBMK starts Fri., Jan. 8, with "Come Play With Biscuit" and a showcase of musicians, continues the next day with workshops and concludes with a huge Saturday night dinner and concert, featuring J.D. Crowe & The New South. Jamming areas will available throughout the weekend for visitors.

Limited dinner and show tickets for the Jan. 10 concert are $45 and are sold in advance only. Show only tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the gate. Children 12 and under get in free for the show only with a paying adult or they can have the dinner and show for $18. Advance tickets include admission to the "Come Play With Biscuit" performance. General admission to "Come Play With Biscuit" is $10 and children 12 and under get in free with a paying adult.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.VisitLebanonKy.com or at the Lebanon Tourist & Convention Commission located at 239 N. Spalding Ave. Ste. 200. For details, go to www.VisitLebanonKy.com, call 270.402.3835 or e-mail kyfellowshipofmusicians@hotmail.com. Hampton Inn of Lebanon is the official hotel for KBMK ‘10. Call 270.629.0021 and ask about a special KBMK package.

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